Matt Spraker: Some Radiation Oncology history…A battle of giants over proton therapy!
Matt Spraker, Radiation Oncologist at the University of Washington, made the following post on Twitter:
“Some Radiation Oncology history… A battle of giants over proton therapy! It started back in 2007 with an article published by Dr. Brada. The concern was that new centers started to open, perhaps ahead of sufficient clinical evidence.
The concerns were centered on the cost of a new center, which was substantial. In response, Dr. Goitein and Cox from Harvard and MDACC (at open proton centers) wrote an editorial. It is… direct to say the least. Unethical!
Further, they argue that radiation oncologists who demand randomized controlled trials are just cheap. Dr. Cox reports compensation from ProBeam, and I wanted to include that “yes, it *is* all about money” in our own editorial (2023). Co-authors smartly argued to be polite.